The Raven and the Serpent
by FlamingMooseNinjasOfEpicness
Summary: Written for swimmergir101's competition, "Heartbreak Competition". AU, I apologize for and OOC-ness.


**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter, or any of these characters. This story was for a challenge by swimmergirl101, "Heartbreak Competition".**

Draco POV:

"And that's why you should never poke Hufflepuffs with spoons!" Goyle finished with his story, cackling loudly. I barely suppressed a snort at his tale, running a thin hand through my platinum blond hair.

The Great Hall was loud and bustling, with students of all houses and ages yelling back and forth to one another. It was lunchtime at Hogwarts, and the Great Hall was at the peak of its activity. Three tables to the right of us were the Gryffindors and, more specifically, Ron, Harry, and Hermione. I laughed out loud when I saw what they were doing. Harry and Hermione were hunched over the table scribbling something furiously on parchment. No doubt that essay McGonagall assigned us, which is due today. Ron had a heaping plate of something steaming, along with a few pieces of toast and a goblet of pumpkin juice. He was stuffing his face to its full capacity, and resembled a chipmunk, actually, with his cheeks bulging.

On the table directly to the left of us, there were the Ravenclaws, clad in blue and silver robes. I saw my Luna sitting with a few girls in her year, chatting animatedly with them. There was her trademark dreamy look in her silver eyes, as if she was about to slip into the depths of sleep at any moment. She glanced up from her conversation and saw me looking at her. Her happy-go-lucky expression immediately went cloudy and worried. She glanced back at her tablemates and mumbled something to them before walking towards me.

"Hello Draco, hello Draco's friends." she said absentmindedly. I could hear my fellow Slytherins fail in holding back laughter at her overall appearance. Today, she was sporting a necklace with the skull of what looked like a small ape, an electric blue and silver knitted hat, and a rose corsage on her wrist that must've been twice as large as her head.

I shot them a dirty look, but that didn't shut them up. "What's up with your necklace?" jeered Crabbe.

Luna, unaffected by her comment, replied with, "It's a charm to keep the Giplums away. They creep into your room in the middle of the night and make you smell like rotting ham. My father gave it to me, because he said that there have been sightings of them around here. He told me that-" she was cut off by Pansy holding up one finger, laughing so hard she couldn't breath.

"Oh my God, I'm dying. What kind of a nutcase is your dad, to think that there are actually things like that?" Pansy took gasping breaths, trying to calm herself down.

Luna looked at her curiously, as if surprised that someone would question her father's beliefs. I had met the man once, and I admit that he wasn't exactly the sanest man I'd ever met, but I had enough class not to laugh at him like that. I shot them all another dirty look, but then turned my attention to Luna. "What's up? Do you need anything?"

"I need to talk to you. Could you come with me?" she had the same dreamy tone and expression that she normally had, but I could sense that something was wrong. I followed her out of the Great Hall, down a corridor, until we came to an abandoned part of the hallway.

"So what's wrong?" I asked her again.

"I really hope you don't take this harshly, but I want to break up with you." she replied, searching my face for any sign of emotion.

"Wait, what?" This was completely unexpected. We had been going so well. We never had any arguments, and got along great. Sure, my friends weren't the best, but I was always there for her. I just couldn't believe this.

"Remember when you came over to my house over Christmas break?" I nodded. "Well after you left my father told me that there was no way we were going to last. He said that Nargles had muddled your brain, and that you weren't seeing things clearly. You were delusional, and that I wasn't who you wanted at all. So I'm breaking up with you to save you that trouble for when the Nargles leave."

I was in shock. She was breaking up with me… Because her mentally unstable dad told her that invisible fairies had invaded my brain? But I knew Luna well, and once she made up her mind there was no changing her. I looked into her eyes, silver pools of light, and knew that this was probably the last time we would speak.

"Goodbye, Draco. It was fun while we had it, wasn't it?" she smiled up at me, and turned on her heel and walked away. I watched her blonde head bob down the hall, then turn a corner and disappear.

I stood there for a few minutes, absorbing what had just happened. I thought back to when I had first asked her out, how she said that she needed to consult her Magic 8 ball. I was so confused until I learned that it was a toy Muggle children used to predict the future. The next day she accepted my offer, and we had been going out since. Until today. We had been through so much, it was hard to imagine a world without her by my side, holding my hand and pointing out the smallest details in life that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

She was my world, my light, my Luna. And all of that was lost now.

After a few minutes had passed, I walked slowly back to the Great Hall. I saw my "friends" Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy laughing together, no doubt at the expense of one of our classmates, and Luna talking with her Ravenclaw classmates once again. She didn't even once glance in my direction. Everyone in the Great Hall was laughing with friends, having the time of their lives. Suddenly I felt extremely awkward, like I was crashing a party that everyone was invited to except for me.

I glanced back out at the empty corridor, and walked out into it, basking in the feeling of lonesomeness that was overwhelming me. Every step I took away from the Great Hall was a step away from her, like I was stepping farther and farther away from the memories that we shared, until they will be nothing but a whisper.

Maybe her breaking up with me was for the better. Maybe we were destined for this. Who knows? All I was aware of was the pain in my heart, clawing at me from the inside and threatening to take over me.


End file.
